Northmarch
About Northmarch One of the three Great Continents on the planet Aros, Northmarch was settled by Human explorers who were searching for the End of the World; the mythical rift where the mortal plane ends and the Great Beyond begins. Man quickly spread across this ripe, seemingly utopia continent, where every major region was a biome of separate resources. It is common belief that the continent was made by the Divine Gods in an attempt to create an island in the Mortal Plane suitable enough for them to reside in, however it was left unsettled by these celestial bodies due to it's deemed inferiority when compared to anything found in the Great Beyond. The Gods, concluding that the Mortal Plane was no place for them to reside, as they deemed nothing there or anything built there was fit for them, left the island to be found by mortal inhabitants. However, a demonic Hellspawn saw the continent as a opportunity to harvest mortal souls drawn to the pristine condition of the island. He bode his time until Man spread across every corner of the continent, and then began his blood-thirsty conquest to ravage everything that the mortal's had worked to build, feeding off the very souls of those he had slain. The Gods, seeing a Hellspawn loose in the Mortal Plane and taking pity on the mortals that were drawn to the continent they created, blessed Northmarch with ten demigod warriors; Borns of Power. These warriors, each granted with elemental powers resembling the different biomes of the continent, Fire, Water, Stone, Sand, Venom, Steel, Storm, Ice, and Sun, banded together and fought back the Hellspawn, banishing it from the Mortal Realm and freeing the souls he had captured from damnation. However, it is said that when the Hellspawn was defeated, his sick and decayed Mortal manifestation decomposed and sank deep beneath the soil, over time digging and forming the vast, darkly Underworld. Mankind managed to rebuild itself, and when the Borns, no exception to the laws of the Mortal Realm, passed away in peace to rejoin the Great Beyond, none were seen again for thousands of years. It became common folklore that Borns were only sent in times of extraordinary crises by the will of the Gods, and birthed with their blessing. For the next three thousand years, humble city-states were formed across the continent, which then evolved into mighty Kingdoms, which then evolved into Alliances and Coalitions. Humanity continued to grow and expand, and when Orcs and Elves arrived from far corners of the world, they were welcomed and quickly grew under Man's hospitality. However, the peace and prosperity did not last forever. The hellish organisms birthed from the Hellspawn's decomposed remains quickly grew and evolved over thousands of years, feeding off the dark energy of the demon's soul, and dwelling in the vast Underworld beneath civilization. There reached a point in time where the first Demonic Dragons were created, and when they managed to break themselves out of the Underworld, they brutally attacked Northmarch and all it's inhabitants. The Elven Snake-Kingdom of Aldimer was hit the hardest, bringing Elfkind to it's knees. Mortal's across the continent watched in terror as the Dragons burnt everything they had built. But then, as legend foretold, Borns of Power emerged once again to combat the darkness. With greatness thrust upon them and blessed by the Gods, the Borns rallied their strength and fought back the Dragons, saving Northmarch once again from destruction. However, the victory scored came at a heavy price: the Western half of the continent, the source of the Dragon invasion, was ravaged and decimated to the point where recovery seemed impossible. As the Kingdoms to the East grew and rebuilt themselves into an Militarist Empire, unwilling to be attacked unprepared by another threat, the West struggled to get off its feet, and became far more rural and underdeveloped than the newly formed Falkrick Empire. This was the start of the warring political and social divide between the halves of Northmarch. Those that could afford the newly expensive lifestyle of security and order, in exchange for strict adherence to Imperial law, flocked to the Empire. Those unable to afford this costly lifestyle of civilization and safety, or even those simply seeking a more bold, lawless lifestyle away from imperialistic obedience, inhabited the West. This civil divide continued to grow and manifest within Northmarch, and after a mere hundred years, disaster struck again. Portals from the Plane of Hellfire were summoned unto Northmarch by a person or party unknown, which allowed for Hellfire Demons to cross into the Mortal Plane. This marked the beginning of the First Hellfire Invasion, which devastated the West yet again while the East held-fast, subjecting the West to take the blunt of the attack. This time however, no Borns emerged to combat the dark forces. This shocked and confused everyone across Northmarch: had the Gods left them to die? This confusion turned to anger and ambition rather than remorse or surrender, which then refueled the armies of the West to ferociously fight back against the Hellfire invasion, beating them into the dark Portals which they emerged from. And now, a hundred years later after the West's victory, is where our Hellborn story begins.